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Topic: Welcome & Plz. Introduce Yourself 5 |
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  This group: Chronic Pain Relief 206 Members View All Topics New Topic Track Topic Mail Preferences |
Leah...and all new members!!
Candi 
[
[
Any ideas of how to get all the members more involved? We could be such
a great support for one another. I know we all face struggles daily and
this would be a great place to vent with those who understand us more
than anyone.
I have been struggling this week with some depression.....not really
sure why it just comes over me from time to time. I feel the tears are
just on the verdge all the time. Anyone else struggle with times of
depression (stupid ? right?) How do you deal with it?
well, I wish everyone a blessed week and hope to get to know some of
you better in the months to come.
God Bless
All newest members, if you have not already, please stop by and introduce yourself. I hope you find valuable information here along with true friendship from others who truly understand your situation 
I've suffered from CP for five years (it'll be six in November), from two bad disks in my lower back (L4/5 and L5/S1). It started as pain from two big herniations, but was made much worse after two bad decisions. 
The first was not to get a second opinion before I had the first surgery to "fix" the problem. The second was to allow the same doctor to do the same thing a second time to "fix" the herniations that magically appeared after the first surgery. 
I had a third surgery in 2002, an IDET, to fix tears in the little disk matter I had left, which helped the pain significantly for about six months before it suddenly returned with a vengence (all I did was sleep in a different bed for a week. I went on vacation to the Jersey shore in little pain and a week later, I came home with pain that was worse than it was before the IDET). 
I've had more epidurals than are usually recommended and been on literally every pain medication out on the market. I finally found one that worked miracles for my pain control - Opana - two years ago, and it has really helped reduce the pain to where I can function okay. I still have my really rotten days (like today, when I did something stupid...no matter how careful I am, I seem to every so often do something that is just so dumb and then pay for it...) but the decent days outnumber the bad ones. My pain currently stems from the latest herniations, which ejected almost all of the disk matter I had left from the disk space, and massive amounts of scar tissue from the surgeries. I haven't had an MRI in years, so there could be other things going on that I just don't know about. I have severe pain in my low back, but the most demoralizing is the pain down my legs. I can deal with the low back pain, but the shooting pain really gets to me mentally. My prognosis is unknown right now. There's a chance we can do disk replacement, but my surgeon wants to wait until he can be sure they will last me as long as possible before they too have to be replaced (inevitable). So now, I wait. 
I'm responsible for covering three municipalities in central NJ and I really love my job. There's nothing better than seeing my byline on the front page, even though it's been there probably hundreds of times, and knowing that my story could make a difference for people. It's an awesome feeling, but also something that I don't take lightly, as it is a huge responsibility. I graduated from college two years ago, after fighting my way through four years when I was battling the CP to get to class. I thought when I was first hospitalized and when I learned what I was facing, that I'd never get back to school or get my degree. But I did it anyway. There wasn't a choice - I knew I was going to do it, no matter what I had to do to get there. That diploma means more to me than anyone could ever know. And not only did I do it, but I went from being a terrible student (with a C average, after being academically dismissed once - I had a lot of fun in college and didn't understand the 'balance') to straight As. I started my major after the CP so I use that as my gpa - it was a 3.82 when I finished. I'm still really proud of myself for finishing it. So I have a B.A. in Journalism and Public Relations (and a lot of debt...lol! 
). 
And I really like smileys! 
Erin 
accepted
